Everything has Changed
by equinedreams
Summary: <html><head></head>A fanfic centered around the events of 8x01 and after, with plot points added in of course. Amy has come back from Europe, but not everything is going as planned and she bears a secret.</html>
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! So I decided to take a break from my New Beginnings story and start on this one. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I will go back to New Beginnings & write more about Ty & Amy's married life from that plot perspective.:) For now here's this one. If it seems like I'm just rehashing the plot of 8x01, just wait for the next chapter, I'm trying to establish what's going on. :) I've decided to include song lyrics instead of chapter titles to sort of explain the chapter. I hope you like it, and please review!

Chapter One

"I've seen a palace in London, I've seen a castle in Wales. But I'd rather wake up beside you and breathe that old familiar smell."-Coming Home by: City and Colour

Amy twisted her engagement ring around on her left hand as the plane was about to touch down on Canadian soil. She was about to be home after four months touring with the World Equestrian Games on Ahmed's team.

She pulled out her purse and opened her little handheld mirror to look over her makeup as the plane slowed down as it touched the runway. She looked at her face, seeing her blue eyes in her reflection, and swallowed hard.

Shutting the mirror quickly, she prepared to get off of the plane. She was home, but not everything felt like it should.

As she stepped off the plane, she looked around for the car waiting for her. She had called Lou and told her not to pick her up at the airport; that she would find her way home.

However, she knew how her family was, and half-expected them to be waiting for her with big smiles and open arms. Amy looked around but saw no one. Feeling a little let down, she walked towards the car waiting for her as the driver stepped out to get her luggage.

When she was home, she was greeted by Lou, Grandpa, Georgie and Tim. She was looking around for Ty when just then, she saw his familiar blue pickup truck pulling out into the driveway.

Running towards him as he stepped out of the truck, she saw one quick glance of his face before she flung herself into his arms. The face that she had seen just in pictures and a few rare Skype conversations over the months. Now he was right in front of her, in the flesh. She felt like her heart was going to burst with happiness and relief.

He chuckled lightly and ran a hand through her carefully curled hair. Amy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to savor this moment and memorize what it felt like to have his arms around her and feel his heart beating against her.

She didn't know if it would stay that way.

Later that day Amy walked around the barn, looking at everything and seeing what had changed while she had been gone.

Some of the tack had been moved, the horses had changed stall positions, but everything seemed the same. The barn seemed much smaller to Amy now-with only four stalls and one tack room it seemed tiny compared to some of the barns she had seen in Europe. She saw the chalkboard board that they wrote all the barn chores on.

Georgie had taken over almost all of Amy's chores while she had gone. A strange sensation passed over Amy. Had she even been missed while she had gone? Or needed?

She wasn't sure anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

This chapter will start to deviate from the events of season 8 & keep going it's on way or whatever I come up with haha. :)

"Would you want me when I'm not myself? Wait it out while I am someone else." Not Myself by: John Mayer

"So what do you think about Jack and Lisa?" Amy turned her head at the sound of Ty's voice. She was sitting on the porch after dinner trying to think things through.

It had been quite an eventful meal, at which Tim had let it slip: Jack and Lisa had eloped. "I was surprised." She said. "But I'm happy for them."

"Yeah, they did seem happy, didn't they? Even though Lou was kind of mad." Ty sat down next to her and lightly draped his arm around the back of the bench.

They had talked a little bit earlier about Europe and her trip. Amy had asked Ty about how school was going. Now they sat in silence. Amy could tell Ty wanted to talk to her, but she wasn't really in the talking mood.

Just then, Amy felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw the name on the screen: Ahmed. Tensing, she stuck the phone back into her pocket and turned to Ty.

"So," She said, forcing a smile on her face, "Tell me more about this horse business you and Caleb have gotten started." Ty looked at her pocket and her still-vibrating phone and said, "don't you need to answer that?"

"No, it's fine." Amy replied. "He can text me. I want to talk to you." Ty seemed pleased at this and began to tell Amy about the horses.

She tried to listen, but all she could think about was the message now glowing bright from her phone screen from Ahmed: "I'm sorry."

Amy walked into the barn the next day and saw Georgie mucking out Spartan's stall and feeding him carrots. She was patting him lovingly and talking to him.

After watching for a moment, Amy walked over to Georgie and said, "Thanks, but I can do this." Georgie looked up at her in surprise.

"It's okay." She said. "I enjoy doing it. Spartan is a good horse." Spartan nuzzled at Amy's pocket for treats, but Amy ignored him and took the pitchfork from Georgie's hands.

"I don't need your help right now." She snapped. She regretted it after seeing the hurt look on Georgie's face. Amy looked after her with a sigh as Georgie threw down the carrots she was holding and walked out of the barn.

It wasn't always so easy to get back into normal life.

Amy stroked Spartan's face and leaned her head against his. She just wished someone could give her all the solutions that could make everything feel better. Because right now nothing felt right.

Georgie went upstairs to her room and opened her laptop. She still felt the sting of Amy snapping at her, but she chalked it up to jet-lag.

Georgie had followed Amy's progress on Ahmed's team religiously for the past few months. For a horse-crazy girl, having an aunt who went to WEG was super awesome.

She had been reading a bunch of blogs that had kept track of the games. Georgie clicked around on her computer until she came to one such blog. There was a video there entitled, "Prince Ahmed's Mystery Girl."

"Hmm, that's weird." Georgie mumbled underneath her breath. She clicked on the video, and then she saw it. Her heart beginning to beat in her chest and her eyes going wide, she slammed her computer shut.

No! It couldn't be! But what else could it be?

It looked very much like Prince Ahmed had kissed Amy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"I need another story. Something to get off my chest."-Secrets by: One Republic

Amy was still sitting on the porch later that night. She stared at her phone screen. The un-answered text message still glowed bright, reminding her of what had happened.

She was just about to get up and go to bed when she heard a voice from behind her. "Amy," It was Jack. "I hope you understand about Lisa and I. We would've had a wedding-but well, we wanted something simple and quiet. And it was sudden."As Jack came to sit down next to her, Amy shut off her phone and scooted over to make room for him.

"Of course, Grandpa," Amy said. "I'm happy for you two. Congratulations." Jack smiled. "Thanks." He said. "And don't worry about Lou." Amy continued. "She'll come around."

Jack studied Amy's face for a second and said, "So how was your trip to Europe?" "It was good." Amy said. "Busy. But fun."

He nodded. It seemed like he wanted to ask her something else, but instead he stood up and said, "Well, goodnight. Remember that a new client horse is coming tomorrow morning."

Amy was there, bright and early the next morning to greet the man driving the truck and horse trailer that rolled into Heartland.

"Hi," Amy said, extending her hand. "I'm A-" "I know who you are. Everyone does now." The man said, shaking her hand with a grin.

"Oh." Amy said, a little flustered but mostly flattered. "So who's this guy?" The man led out a big chestnut gelding who immediately started eating grass.

"This is Rockefeller. He bucks really badly anytime you get him faster than a walk." Amy took the lead rope from the man's hands and started walking the horse to the barn.

"Sounds like a bit of a behavioral issue." Amy said. "Maybe he needs to be taken back to basics." "I don't know, but I sure hope you can figure it out. I pay well." The man raised his eyebrows at Amy as they walked into the barn.

"So this is it?" He asked, looking around a barn with a bit of a disgusted look on his face. "I brought my horse into a four-stall dinky barn?"

Amy felt a bit embarrassed as she answered, "Well, yes, it does only have four stalls. But...I can assure you that Rockefeller will get the best of care, and our pastures are excellently maintained."

The man shrugged and handed an armful of tack of Amy. "Alright." He said. "I'll be back to check on his progress. Thank you."

Amy was left standing there with a horse, a thousand-dollar saddle, and a sense that maybe Heartland didn't live up to the standards of her clients.

"Hey." Ty came to stand next to Amy. She was sitting in the barn office, pouring over the last couple bank statements and balances.

"Do you think we'd have enough money to expand the barn?" Amy asked distractedly. "What? Expand it?" Ty's voice revealed his surprise.

"Yeah. By three or four stalls maybe...maybe five." Amy flipped a page in the book and squinted at the columns of numbers. "What's wrong with the barn now?" Ty asked.

"It's too small. My clients are bringing fancy Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds to me, they can't expect to put them in a four stall barn!" She said.

"I think they'd better." Ty pointed at the last bank statement. "There's not enough money in the budget to add on four or five stalls. Besides, Amy, the barn always worked in the past."

She sighed and closed the books. Looking up at Ty, a wave of some emotion passed over her. She didn't know exactly what it was. She had missed him so much. He seemed more confident now, more sure of himself.

Suddenly Ty was smiling at her. It was a warm, loving smile, and Amy saw it coming. A kiss. He sat on the edge of the desk and slowly leaned down to meet her lips with his.

Amy felt her heart pounding in her chest. It wasn't the good pounding, either-the kind when you're really excited or happy. It was the kind that made Amy feel sick to her stomach and a bit dizzy.

She kept her arms stiffly at her sides as Ty's lips closed over hers for a few seconds. She squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself to calm down as Ty wrapped his arms around her waist.

She shouldn't be freaking out. This was her fiancé. It was Ty, after all. But she couldn't help it. Something inside her screamed at her to back up at end the kiss.

So she did. She pulled back abruptly and ended the kiss, feeling her hands shaking. Ty looked at her, puzzled. He didn't say anything; just stood up.

"Well," he said, clapping his hands together, "Let's go eat, shall we?" Amy took a deep breath and nodded. Yes. That would be good.

Lisa and Jack were sitting on the porch after dinner later that night. Ty had gone home to his trailer, Amy had gone to check on the horses.

Everyone else was off doing something. Lisa slipped her ringed hand into Jack's and gave it a squeeze.

"I love you, old man." She said with a playful giggle. Jack chuckled and pretended to act hurt. "Hey now!" He said, and they kissed.

"I'm so happy, Jack." Lisa said with a contended sigh. "I'm glad we've finally told the kids, even if Lou's upset." "Yeah." Jack said. "I'm glad, too."

"Have you noticed something's different about Amy, though?" Lisa asked, growing serious. Jack thought about it. "Well she dresses sort of fancy now. And she curls her hair a lot."

"No, not like that." Lisa said. "Although I have noticed her clothes-they have been gorgeous lately. It's just...*her*. She's been acting all jittery and not herself. Like something is bothering her."

Jack shrugged. "I'll ask her about it." He said.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same."-All at Once by: The Fray

Amy checked the girth one last time before lifting herself into the saddle. She gently squeezed her calves against Rockefeller's sides and he walked forward. A good start so far.

She walked him into the round pen. Since he bucked so badly, Amy just planned on doing walk-trot-canter transitions with him and see how he did

They had just started trotting with no bucking so far when Amy looked up at the sound of a car. She felt her face go pale. It was Ahmed's car. As he pulled up beside the round pen, she continued trotting. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the figure of Ahmed coming to stand against the side of the pen.

"Hello, Amy," he called to her. "Ahmed." Amy acknowledged his presence, but didn't look towards him. She felt uncomfortable in a way she never had before with him observing her riding.

She tensed up, her hands becoming tight around the reins and her legs pressing against Rockefeller's sides, inadvertently telling him to canter.

Rockefeller took off in a canter, just as Ahmed started speaking to her. "Amy," he said, "I...I came to apologize." She kept her eyes up as the horse kept cantering. "Ahmed, I don't really want to talk about this right now."

Her voice was cold, and Ahmed sighed in frustration. "Please hear me out then." He said. "I..." Ahmed cast a glance around to make sure no one was listening, "I am sorry for what I did. I wasn't thinking clearly."

Amy shook her head in disbelief. Just then, Rockefeller let out a buck, his back legs flying into the air. Amy struggled to keep him under control as he bucking became progressively worse.

She grasped at his mane with one hand and the reins with the other, trying to stay on. "Easy boy," She said, but once he got started it was hard to get him to stop. "Whoa..." Ahmed stood at the gate of the round pen, looking on with concern and helplessness.

When Rockefeller gave one final buck, Amy fell to the ground with a thud. Rockefeller trotted off, head held high.

Before she could get up, Ahmed was right beside her, kneeling to help her up. He put a hand on her back as she stood and brushed herself off, adjusting her helmet. "Are you alright?" He asked, his hand still resting on the small of her back.

"I'm fine." Amy snapped. She left Ahmed standing there and went to catch Rockefeller. When Amy looked back a few minutes later as she was leading the horse to the barn, Ahmed's car was backing out of Heartland.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she went inside to get some lunch.

Georgie was sitting at the table, eating a sandwich when Amy walked inside. "Hey," Amy said, heading for the fridge.

Georgie didn't reply. In fact, Amy wasn't sure Georgie had even heard her from the expressionless look on her face. "Georgie," Amy prodded as she said down with her soda, "What's up?"

"Not much." She said. They sat in complete silence for a few minutes. "What happened to your bulletin board?" Amy asked." I went upstairs to put some laundry away in your room and all the pictures were on the floor...shredded."

Georgie had made a bulletin board full of pictures of Amy and Ahmed at the World Equestrian Games. Georgie shrugged. "I just decided to

take it down." She said. "It didn't seem right anymore."

Amy watched the young girl carefully. "Georgie..." She said. "Is something wrong?"

Georgie shook her head. She paused for a moment and said, "Well...yeah, I guess." "What is it? Something at school?" Amy guessed, getting up to fix herself her own sandwich.

"No." Georgie said. "I don't think I should tell you...err..show you." Amy thought that was an odd thing to say. "Oh, come on, Georgie." She said. "Don't keep me in suspense. Maybe I can help you."

Georgie sighed. "I don't think so." She said. "Come here." Georgie grabbed Lou's iPad and clicked around for a little while until she found what she was looking for.

Amy sat her sandwich on the table and licked her finger, coming to stand behind Georgie. When she saw what was on the screen, she froze. "Ahmed's mystery girl" was the heading of a small video.

"Georgie...what is this?" Amy asked, revealing the fear in her voice. Not answering, Georgie clicked play. Amy watched the video in horror. It showed Ahmed and Amy sitting on a couch, talking in a friendly fashion.

Then Ahmed had leaned in and kissed her. The video cut off at that point. Georgie looked up at Amy to gauge her reaction. "Georgie," Amy said, feeling like her heart would beat right out of her chest, "I...it's not what it looks like."

"I don't think I can believe you." Georgie said seriously. "Georgie! It was the last night and...it wasn't anything really...he apologized."

Georgie stood up and said, "You'd better not let Ty find this."

Amy stood there in the kitchen after Georgie had left. Flashbacks of that night kept sending her heart pounding in her chest. She gulped down the rest of her soda and headed for her bedroom.

Amy knew what she had to do. She had to tell Ty the truth-what had happened that night-before he found out some other way.

She made plans to go to his trailer for dinner that night. Standing in front of her mirror, she touched the ends of her curled hair and looked at her reflection.

Her eyes looked scared, in a way that had never looked before. She looked away and shut them tight. All she could hope was that Ty would understand.

They were sitting in his trailer, eating beef stew that Ty had made later that night. "Wow, I'm impressed. This is really good." Amy said, trying to make the situation a little lighter.

She had the feeling that Ty had picked up on her tenseness and nerves, as he hadn't said much and seemed concerned for her. "Thanks." He said. "I'm glad you like it."

"Ty," she said, squeezing her napkin in her lap, "I have something to tell you." He looked up from across the table. "I'm listening."

"I...I don't know how to say this. Please try to understand." She said, feeling very nervous. "Go ahead, Amy." Ty said. "What's wrong?"

"That last night of the WEG tour," Y began, "I was having a great time. There was a going-away party for the team, and I was there. As well as Ahmed. We were just chatting-about horses. The paparrizi were always around-they were snapping pictures like crazy."

Ty listened, seeming a little puzzled. "And...like I said, Ahmed and I were sitting on the couch, chatting. He gave me a gift from the team-it was a really pretty horseshoe necklace. He put it around my neck and I thought nothing of it. I thanked him, and..."

"And what?" Ty prodded. Amy swallowed hard, feeling hot tears begin to form at the corners of her eyes. "He kissed me, Ty. On the lips. I had no idea it was coming. It shocked the hell out of me."

Ty sat very still, trying to maintain his calm. "I mean, he had been so nice as polite the whole time. I never thought he'd do that."

"What happened after he kissed you?" Ty asked, his voice flat. "Well...I tried pulling away from the kiss. I was trying to back away and he...put his hand on the back of my head and wouldn't let me back away. He kept kissing me until finally I stood up and walked away."

Amy blinked furiously, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Oh Ty, I feel so bad. He apologized later but I don't think I can work with him again. I was so scared you wouldn't understand or you'd find that stupid video on the internet before I had time to tell you..."

"I didn't want him to kiss me; I never thought he would. I feel so stupid and naive."

In a moment, Ty was over to Amy and had her wrapped up in his arms as she cried quietly against his shoulder. He was completely taken aback and angry at Ahmed. He could just feel his blood pressure start to rise. He didn't know what to feel towards Amy.

He felt completely conflicted. He wanted to punch Ahmed's lights out for kissing his fiancée and then not letting her break up the kiss! But he also felt completely out of the picture regarding Amy and her time at WEG.

Sitting there confused, he held Amy.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi! Sorry I haven't written anything in a while; I've been busy and not in "writing mode." Here's the fifth chapter of EHC. It's going to be different from what happens in the show, including the video of Ahmed and Amy kissing. I want it to seem like Amy tried to break up the kiss but Ahmed wouldn't let her in my story, although we never see that in the actual show.

Chapter Five:

"I dream of ways to make you understand my pain." -Heartbreak Warfare by: John Mayer

Amy ran the stiff brush over Spartan's coat, feeling the stray dust and hair come loose beneath the coarse bristles. "Good boy," She murmured as she gave him a pat.

Things had settled a little bit back into routine since Amy had returned. She had taken over more of her chores and Georgie had less than when she was gone. It seemed to disappoint her at first, but then she started to enjoy the free time.

Amy hadn't seen Ahmed since returning home, and she hadn't seen Ty since that night at his trailer when she told him what happened with Ahmed. She felt a little nervous about seeing Ty again. What would he say? Would he be angry at her?

She unhooked Spartan's halter from his face as she put him back into his stall. She needed to work with Rockefeller, the client horse who bucked. As she opened up his stall door, she hoped that he wasn't too fresh and frisky today. She really wasn't up to being bucked off.

"That's right. Now grab the scissors." Scott leaned over Ty as he was performing an operation on a dog who had a golf ball stuck in her stomach. Ty grabbed the scissors, concentration evident in his face.

A few minutes later, he was finished. The golf ball successfully removed, Ty stitched the dog back up and cleaned up. "You did a good job today, Ty," Scott said, clapping him on the back.

"Thanks." Ty said, not really used to praise from the older, more experienced veterinarian. Scott wasn't really one to offer ample praise. "I'll see you tomorrow at 6 AM sharp." Scott walked off as Ty peeled off his gloves.

He was working a lot more morning shifts lately. He didn't mind all that much; he enjoyed his work. It just made getting a decent amount of sleep harder. As he walked out of the clinic, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw on the bright front screen a picture of him and Amy.

It reminded him of what he needed to do. Taking a deep breath, he started his truck and drove to Heartland. He probably could drive there with his eyes closed.

When Ty pulled up, Amy was hopping down from Rockefeller. He walked up just as she was leading him to the barn.

"Hey," He said. "How has your day been?" "Fine." Amy replied, glancing back momentarily as she took off the horse's bridle and put him in the cross-ties. "What about you?"

"Uh, it's been good." He clapped his hands together, not knowing how to broach the subject. "Amy..." He began. She looked up at him, her blue eyes giving away her nervousness. "Let's go sit in the office." He said.

After they were seated, Ty began. "Amy, I just need to get some things off my chest." He said. "And ask you about some things, alright?" She nodded.

"Why did you decide to go to WEG without asking me first? Not that it was my decision to make..it wasn't. But it would have been nice to have known what was going on." He said it all in a rush.

"I don't know. Ahmed came to me and...he was so exited about he going." She cringed and then resumed talking. "I got excited, as well. I thought about what an incredible opportunity it was and how I could make money for our future. I just got carried away."

A pause, and then, "But you didn't tell me about Charger." "True." Ty said. "And I'm sorry. I just wanted to keep up my end of things."Amy picked at a loose thread at her jeans. "What else did you want to know?" She asked.

"This might seem petty, but it concerned me. Why did you not want to kiss me the other day?" Amy could tell he felt a bit awkward saying it, as his ears turned slightly pink.

She took a breath. "Ty, it had nothing to do with you." She said. "I missed you so much while I was in Europe. Sometimes I...I would be in a crowded room or at a competition and I would imagine you were standing there by me. Imagine you were hugging me; imagine I could see your eyes and hear your voice. I was looking forward to getting home and..." She smiled, now her turn to get a bit sheepish.

"Kissing you after not being able to for 4 months. And then the whole thing with Ahmed happened. Ty, it was awful. It scared me. I just considered Ahmed a friend. I trusted him. He wouldn't let me go."

Amy looked up to see Ty's eyes on her, watching her quietly but worriedly. "What else?" He asked, his voice low. "I...I sometimes have nightmares about it." She admitted.

Ty knew her history of having nightmares when scary things happened to her. "What kind of nightmares?" He prodded gently. "Just where the whole kiss is happening in slow mo...and I'm trying to break it up and Ahmed won't let me again. And everyone is watching and taking pictures."

A lone tear rolled down Amy's cheek as Ty came to grab her hand. "It's alright." He breathed into her hair as he hugged her tightly to him. "I'm so sorry that happened."


End file.
